Posture, State, and Communication

Hello!

I thought I'd try something a little out of the ordinary today. My whole list is going to have an opportunity to eavesdrop on the weekly Wellness Coaching Community Member email. [Don't worry, members. I won't give out the secret handshake! :-)]

Several times during the past couple of weeks, in coaching conversations, we've talked about the value of being able to choose your state. Of course, we're usually talking about having success with a particular project goal -- like being well-received when giving a presentation at work or communicating with a significant other.

But there's a bigger picture here, and it applies to all of us.

Your state influences your health.

All of us are interested in creating good health, aren't we? Yep, I thought so.

So here's our agenda today. I'm going to briefly remind you what state is, why it's important, and how we have control over it. Then we'll describe its affect on posture. Posture, of course, being directly related to muscular pain and tension, the key issue that many of you are interested in.

[Then all the way down at the bottom I'll request your feedback on a new project idea.]

Here's the implication: Manage your state well, and your posture will naturally improve. Improved posture leads to less muscular pain and tension. Which makes us all happy! (Happiness being a desirable state and all...)

So what's a state, anyway? I don't know about you, but I think we talked about that back in 6th grade somewhere. The dictionary defines "state" as "a mode or condition of being." "Being" words define us. They are nouns, like our name is. Adjectives describe us, but nouns define us. There's a big difference, which is why I'm being so picky.

Let's look at an example. If you say "I feel bad," the word "bad" describes you. On hearing that sentence, an observer might suppose you're temporarily under the weather with a cold or bug, or perhaps are feeling sad or shameful over some event that just happened. On the other hand, if you say "I am bad," the word "bad" defines you. On hearing that sentence, the listener comes to understand that you believe you are permanently flawed in some way.

See the difference?

Now try out each sentence, one at a time. See what you feel like inside when you speak each one. There's a difference in your feeling, too, isn't there? Neither is great, of course. But "bad" the noun makes you feel much worse than "bad" the adjective.

Ok, now you can cancel it out. Repeat after me: "I am generosity, vitality, and grace." In fact, why don't you try that a couple more times, just for good measure.

How do you feel now? Better, I suspect.

Now for some great news. You've just learned to choose your state!

State and posture.

One of the benefits of posture in a social society such as ours is its value as a communication tool. Posture expresses emotion (and state) much more efficiently than words do. Imagine you're walking down a dark alley in an unfamiliar city with some friends. (And let's hope that if you ever find yourself in that situation, that you're walking with LOTS of friends!) Whoever is up front at the head of the group observes a shady looking character lurking in the shadows.

Immediately, the rest of you sense a change in his or her attitude. As long as you're paying attention, there would be no need for words. Your leader is able to communicate the danger he or she perceives very efficiently, silently (which could be important!) primarily through posture.

This is an adaptive use of posture as a communication tool. It helps our species survive.

Posture also reflects your state less adaptively (in ways that may harm you). Let's say you've been under chronic stress over a period of time. Your state may have some of these qualities: fear, isolation, insecurity, victimization, lethargy, and so on. Remember, our premise is that these states have been defining you over time. Would you expect your body tissue to reflect that definition? I would. I'd expect postural changes, for sure. I'd also expect changes to your organ tissue, but perhaps that's for another day.

More good news.

Scientific research shows that increasing the "positive" emotions like happiness and joy can speed up your recovery from "negative" situations. In other words, if you go to a very scary movie, your body will register its fear response for a shorter period of time if you and your buddies crack some jokes on your way out of the theater. (Gee, you never see that, do you?)

The moral of today's story. Choose your state wisely. It's creating you even as we speak!

Learn more about Wellness Coaching.

Requesting your feedback.

You may have noticed (if not, I guess you will now) that I posted a new website a couple of months ago. FYI it's www.wellnesscoachingprogram.com. I'm putting together a new FAQ page consisting of "Common questions about mind-body health." My intent is to include some general information, and also include some information specific to the audience of people interested in musculo-skeletal problems like back pain, neck pain, and postural change.

It was pretty easy for me to post a FAQ page for neuromuscular therapy -- people ask me those questions all the time. But I honestly don't field as many questions about mind-body influences... strange, as that's where it all starts...

My question for you is this: What do you want to know? Shoot me an email and I'll do my best to get your questions answered.

That's all for today!

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